Kalimpong, Oct. 9: Come Diwali, the hills will come alive with the sound of music.

A Solo Instrumental Competition, with the thrust on Western classical music, will be held at Saptashree Gyanpeeth here on November 10. The open competition is being organised by My Peace Organisation, a local NGO.

Four faculty members of Bach Music Academy in Vienna, Austria, will be the star judges at the competition. They are Mari Naka (piano), Luis Morais (violin), James Rapport (contrabass) and the director, Hanns Stekel (violin, viola and flute).

Prior to the competition, auditions will be held in Kurseong, Kalimpong, and Darjeeling to select three contestants each in three different instrumental categories: guitar, violin and keyboard. “The contestant will be judged on the basis of timing, beat, length of the piece, rhythm, feel while playing and technique,” said event coordinator Abhinash Chhetri.

The organisers will give cash awards of Rs 20,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 to the first, second and third finishers in all the categories. “The event will encourage our children to take up Western classical music and, maybe, even a make a name for themselves in the world of music,” said Chettri.

The four musicians from Vienna will also play selected pieces of Bach, Mozart and Strauss at a concert here on November 11. The proceeds of the concert and donations collected for it will be used to fund the free music institute for poor children that has been recently opened here by My Peace Organisation.

“The classical music lessons imparted by us will be at par with the ones at any other international music institute,” said Chogyal Rimpoche, who heads My Peace. He added that the music institute would soon be affiliated to Bach Music Academy.

After the first batch of students complete their graded examinations, efforts will be made to form a symphony orchestra and give it national exposure. “The very talented ones among the children will be given an opportunity to pursue their skills abroad,” said Chogyal Rimpoche.

The music institute apart, My Peace plans to set up an orphanage and old-age home in Kalimpong.